Villagers are urged to be lifesavers

Friends and neighbours touched by the inspirational story of teenager Josie Grove are being urged to become lifesavers in her memory.

Friends and neighbours touched by the inspirational story of teenager Josie Grove are being urged to become lifesavers in her memory.

Josie died last February after her courageous decision to forgo further leukaemia treatment to enjoy the time she had left with her family.

Journal readers have helped the Josie Grove Fund raise £27,590 for leukaemia research, and since her death the appeal has been used to recruit more people to the bone marrow donors' register.

The 16-year-old had two unsuccessful bone marrow transplants, but despite their failure Josie's parents credit the operations with giving them precious extra years with their daughter.

Cliff and Jacqui Grove gave the Anthony Nolan Trust £10,000 to sign up more donors, with the first session at the Theatre Royal in Newcastle last month.

Now details of the second session have been announced. It will take place in the family's home village of Corbridge in Northumberland on Friday next week. The Anthony Nolan Trust's donor recruitment manager Nigel Gorvett said: "This amazing donation will pay for us to recruit 143 new potential donors onto our lifesaving register, as it costs us £70 to register each person.

"We are organising three recruitment clinics in the region, giving people the opportunity to join the Anthony Nolan bone marrow register.

"The first was held at the Theatre Royal in Newcastle on Saturday, May 19, where seven people were recruited.

"We are hoping that this second clinic, being held in Josie's home town of Corbridge, will be much better attended."

The clinic is being held at Corbridge Parish Hall in St Helen's Street on Friday from 4pm to 7pm.

Nigel said: "Corbridge Parish Council have been very supportive of this event and are hoping that it is a great success.

"There are currently over 7,000 people in the UK who desperately need a bone marrow transplant and the only way to help them is by people coming along to these clinics and joining the register.

"If you are aged 18 to 40, I would urge you to come along to the clinic to find out how you can help to keep alive Josie's wishes of improving the quality of life of children suffering from leukaemia."

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Rules for donors

To join the Anthony Nolan register, donors must:

Be aged 18 to 40

Be in good health

Weigh more than eight stone or 51kg

Not be severely overweight and

Be willing to donate to any patient you may ever match.

Once you have joined, you will remain on the register until your 60th birthday.

For more information, contact the Anthony Nolan Trust at www.anthonynolan.org.uk or call 0207 284-1234.